Shuttle mechanism for paper carriages



J y 3 W. A. ANDERSON 2,323,783

SHUTTLE MECHANISM FOR PAPER CARRIAGES Filed Dec. 50, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet l Juiy 6, 1943. w. A. ANDERSON 2,323,783

SHUTTLE MECHANISM FOR PAPER CARBIAGES Filed Dec. 30, 1941 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 g INVENTOR WE: WALTER A. ANDERSON ATTORNEY Patented July 6, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHUTTLE MECHANISM FOR PAPER CARRIAGES Application December 30, 1941, Serial No. 424,973

3 Claims.

This invention relates to paper carriages for accounting machines and more particularly to a means for controlling the shuttle movements thereof.

Certain work performed on accounting machines requires shuttle movement of the carriage between one pair of Columns of a work form during certain operations, for printing figure in those columns, and shuttle movement between another pair of columns located on a different portion of the form, for printing figures therein during other operations. It is particularly desirable to have the carriage readily adjustable for shuttling between either pair of columns at the will of the operator.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a simple and effective means for permitting ready adjustment of the paper carriage for shuttle movement at more than one place on a Work form.

With this and incidental objects in View, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts, the essential elements of which are set forth in appended'claims, and a preferred embodiment of which is hereinafter described with reference to the drawings which accompany and form part of the specification.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a right side elevation showing a portion of 'the paper carriage embodying the selectively adjustable shuttling mechanism, the parts being shown in normal or operative position,

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 but showing the shuttle control mechanism moved to inoperative position preparatory to adjusting the carriage for shuttle movement between a selected pair of columns,

Figure 3 is a detail right side elevation of a latch for holding certain of the shuttle movement initiating elements in operative position,

Figure 4 is a rear elevation of the carriage showing the conventional carriage return mechanism and the shuttle control elements that 00- operate therewith,

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective of the shuttle movement control bar and appurtenant parts,

Figure 6 is a detail sectional elevation taken on the line 66 of Figure 4 showing the means for mounting the shuttle movement control bar on the paper carriage, and

Figure '7 shows an example of the work performed together with a diagrammatic illustration of the operation and shuttle movement controlling mechanisms.

The invention is herein shown as applied to a carriage of the type disclosed in the U. S. Patents Nos. 1,901,135 and 2,088,982, issued to Oscar J. Sundstrand on March 14, 1933, and August 3, 1937, respectively, and embodies a shuttle control mechanism similar to that disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 1,912,168, issued to Walter A. Anderson, on May 30, 1933.

Referring to Figure 1, the carriage includes oppositely disposed end plates 2 between which is mounted a platen 3. The carriage is mounted for lateral movement on rollers, such as 4, that travel along a bed 5 of the machine frame. The carriag'e is impelled toward the right (Figure 4) on its working stroke, by a coil spring '6 encased in a drum 1 fixed on the machine frame, spring 6 being connected by a tape 8 with the carriage proper.

The mechanism for returning the carriage to its initial position is identical with that disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent No. 1,901,135. This mechanism includes a rack ll extending across the rear of the carriage and fixed at its ends -m brackets I2 secured to plates 2. Rack H is engageable by a pinion l3 carried on a frame I4 pivoted at 15 in the machine frame. Pinion I3 corresponds to pinion 26 in Patent 1,901,135 and is driven in a counter-clockwise direction by means similar to those disclosed in that patent. A spring l6, connected to a depending arm I! of frame M, tensions the frame clockwise about pivot l5, and normally tends to move the pinion into mesh with the rack to initiate return (leftward, Figure 4) movement of the carriage. The pinion is normally withheld from engagement with the rack, however, by a latch lever l8 pivoted at 2!, and having a shoulder 22 that engages a stud 23 fixed in frame l4. A spring 24, connected to lever I 8, normally tensions the lever into effective latching position as shown in Figure 4.

Whenever a carriage return dog, such as 25, strikes the upper end of lever l8, shoulder 22 is withdrawn from above stud 23 and the driven pinion I3 is permitted to engage rack H and initiate return movement of the carriage, against the tension of spring 6. Pinion i3 is disengaged from rack l l whenever a carriage return disengaging roller, such as 26, depresses an arm 21' of a bell crank 28 pivoted at 3! on the machine frame. The lower arm of bell crank 28 is connected by a link 32 to frame l4 so that counterclockwise movement of the bell crank, incident to its depression by roller 26, pulls frame |4 downwardly, and Withdraws pinion 3 from engagement with rack whereupon lever I8 again becomes effective to hold the pinion disengaged. Immediately upon disengagement of the pinion from the rack, spring 6 impels the carriage rightwardly on its working stroke.

The carriage is stopped in the various columns during its working stroke, and the machine conditioned to perform required operations in those columns, by a conventional control plate 33 (Figure 1). This plate is identical with plate ||0 disclosed in the previously mentioned Patent 2,088,982. The left edge of the plate is secured to a square shaft 34, the opposite ends of which are pivoted in end plates 2. The under side of the plate carries spaced control pins 35 (Figure 2) that engage corresponding machine operation control elements 36, certain of the pins engaging escapement elements for stopping the carriage in the various columnar positions.

A spring 31, connected to an arm 38 secured on one end of shaft 34, normally tensions plate 33 downwardly to the position shown in Figure l where the control pins 35 lie in association with control lements 35. A hand lever 4|, pivoted at 42 on one of the plates 2, has a depending arm carrying a roller 43 that lies beneath an extension 44 formed on arm 38. A spring 45 normally tensions hand lever 4| clockwise about pivot 42. When the operator desires to manually shift the carriage from one column to another, manipulation of hand lever 4| counter-clockwise about pivot 42 until extension 44 stops against a pin 46, tilts plate 33 counter-clockwise against the tension of spring 3?, and elevates pins 35 above the horizontal plane of elements 36 as shown in Figure 2. This movement of the plate raises the tabular control pins 35 out of engagement with their corresponding escapement elements 36, so that the carriage is free for manual adjustment to any desired column.

The mechanism for permitting rapid adjustment of the carriage for shuttle movement between a selected pair of a plurality of pairs of columns on a work form will now be described. Referring to Figures 4 and 5, the carriage return dogs 2525 and carriage return disengaging rollers 2626' are secured in predetermined, spaced positions on a plate 4'! by screws 48, the positions corresponding to the columns on the work forms. Plate 41 is detachably secured to a rod 5! that extends across the carriage above plate 33, and is pivoted at its opposite ends in brackets l2. Any suitable means for securing the plate to the rod may be used. The preferred form herein shown comprises an opening 52 in the right end of the plate that embraces a pin 53 fixed in the rod, and a series of spaced notches 54 in one edge of the plate that embrace correspondingly spaced spring pressed plungers 55 (Figure 6) mounted on rod 5|. The detachable mounting of plate 48 permits easy interchange of plates having different dog and roller set-ups for causing shuttling movement between pairs of columns having different locations on the Work forms.

A spring 56 (Figure 1) connected between rod 5| and bracket l2 tensions the rod downwardly against a stop 51 secured in the right hand bracket !2 to normally hold plate 4! and the dogs and rollers in effective position with respect to lever i8 and arm 21. A latch 58 (Figure 3) pivoted on a screw 6| secured in bracket |2 and connected by a link 63 to hand lever 4|, is notched at its right end to embrace rod 5| when the parts are in normal position. This latch locks rod 5| and plate 48 against displacement incident to dogs 2525 or rollers 2626' engaging lever H3 or arm 21.

A lever 64 also pivoted on screw 6| is connected at one end by a pin and slot connection 65 to hand lever 4| and has its opposite end touching a pin 66 in a bracket 61 secured on shaft 5| by a screw 68. By this connection, manipulation of hand lever 4| to tilt plate 43 as above described, concurrently rocks lever 64 clockwise about screw BI and causes the right end of lever 64 to tilt rod 5| and plate 41 upwardly, latch 58 being pulled upwardly to ineffective position at the same time.

The tilting of plate 41 raises dogs 2626 and rollers 2525' above lever 8 and arm 21, to an ineffective position, as shown in Figure 2. The carriage may then be shifted to a position where lever l8 and arm 2! lie between either the dog 25 and roller 26 or dog 25' and roller 26. Upon the carriage being shifted to the desired position, lever 4| is released, and the parts restore to their normal positions shown in Figure 1 where they are ready for shuttle movement between the selected pair of columns.

Figure 7 shows one example of work that may be performed with the improved shuttling mechanism. The form illustrated is one that is used in printing monthly records of money orders issued in post ofiice work. It is noted that dog 25 and roller 26 occupy positions on plate 41 to cause shuttling movement of the carriage between one pair of amount and fee columns designated as the A group, and that dog 25 and roller 26' occupy positions to cause shuttling of the carriage between another pair of "amount and fee columns designated as the B group.

In operation, the carriage is stopped in the amount column of the A group by the conventional tabular stops 35 engaging their corresponding escapement elements 36. The amount is indexed upon the amount keyboard and printed in the amount column. Following this printing, the carriage automatically tabulates to the fee column of the A group. The amount of the fee is indexed on the keyboard and printed. Then, when the escapement automatically releases the carriage followingthe printing, dog 25 strikes lever |8, whereupon pinion I3 is released to engage rack (Figure 4) and initiate return movement of the carriage. During the return movevment, as soon as roller 26 depresses arm 21, pinion |3 is disengaged from rack whereupon the carriage moves in the opposite direction a slight increment, until it is again stopped in the amount column of the A group by the tabular stops 35 again engaging the escapement elements 36. In this manner the carriage continuously shuttles between the columns of the A group for the printing of figures therein. The form is automatically advanced to the next printing line following the printing of the fee, by a conventional platen feed such as that disglozsed in the previously mentioned Patent 2,088,-

After the printing is completed in the A group and the totals are taken in the usual manner, the platen is manually rotated to again bring the first line of the form into printing alignment, and hand-lever 4| is manipulated to adjust the carriage laterally to a position where lever l8 and arm 2! lie between dog 25 and roller 26'. The printing operations are performed in the columns of the B group in the same manner as above described in connection with the A group, the carriage now shuttling between the amount and fee columns of the B group. If it should be necessary to shift from group B to group A or vice versa, it is only necessary to manipulate hand-lever 4| and shift the carriage sufficiently to bring the proper set of dogs and rollers into proper relation with lever l8 and arm 21.

While the form of mechanism herein shown and described is admirably adapted to fulfill the objects primarily stated, it is to be understood that it is not intended to confine the invention to the one form of embodiment herein disclosed, for it is susceptible of embodiment in various forms all coming within the scope of the claims r a travelling carriage, return mechanism therefor. means for tabulating the carriage from column to column including a control plate pivoted on the carriage, a manipulative member for tilting the control plate to inefiective position, a bar pivoted in the carriage, a plate detachably secured on the bar, a plurality of pairs of dogs and rollers on the plate adapted to cooperate selectively with the return mechanism to efiect shuttle movement of the carriage between different pairs of columns located on different parts of a Work form, and means operable by the manipulative member to rock the dogs and rollers out of cooperative position with the return mechanism to permit rapid and selective adjustment of the carriage; for shuttle movement between one or another of said pairs of columns.

2. In a machine of the class described, having a travelling paper carriage movable in one direction on a working stroke, a rack fixed on the carriage, carriage return mechanism including a bell crank pivoted for movement toward and away from the rack, a pinion on the bell crank for movement into and out of mesh with the rack, a latch lever normally restraining the bell crank to prevent engagement of the pinion with the rack, a plate on the carriage, a series of pairs of dogs and rollers located in predetermined columnar positions on the plate, said plate being movable and normally held in a position where one of the pairs of dogs and rollers cooperate with the lever and bell crank to efiect shuttle movement of the carriage between a corresponding pair of columns of a Work form, a manipulative member, and means operable by the manipulative member to move the plate and the dogs and rollers out of cooperative position with the lever and bell crank to enable rapid adjustment of the carriage for shuttle movement between another pair of columns.

3. In a machine of the class described, a travelling carriage, return mechanism therefor including a lever for enabling said mechanism and a lever for disabling said mechanism, a plate on the carriage, a plurality of pairs of dogs and rollers located in difierent pairs of columnar positions on the plate, each pair being operable to engage the levers for effecting shuttle movement of the carriage between the corresponding pair of columns, a latch for holding the plate in efiective position, a manipulative member, and means controlled by the manipulative member for releasing the latch and moving the plate to permit ready adjustment of the carriage for shuttle movement between a different pair of columns.

WALTER A. ANDERSON. 

